


The Best of All Possible Circumstances

by Kismetcanbiteme



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: A little bit of angst, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arranged Marriage, F/F, Fluff, Princess Clarke Griffin, Rogue!Lexa, Smut, princess!clarke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:47:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25910809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kismetcanbiteme/pseuds/Kismetcanbiteme
Summary: She narrowed her eyes “It’s a bad idea.”“Oh, definitely.”“The worst idea.”“Undoubtedly.’”“I’m getting married tomorrow.”The brunette crept a bit closer with a look that screamed: trouble. “All the more reason.”“I don’t even know your name.” the princess huffed.At this, she received a wide grin that made the breath catch in her chest. “You can call me Lexa, your highness.”Princess Clarke of Arkadia is getting married to a complete stranger tomorrow. When a beautiful rogue shows up to steal something from the princess, she decides to have some fun on her last night of freedom.
Relationships: Clarke Griffin/Lexa
Comments: 19
Kudos: 486





	The Best of All Possible Circumstances

**Author's Note:**

> I'll take "Trying to cure my writers block with smutty one shots" for 400 please, Alex.

_Tap_

_Tap_

_Tap, Tap_

_Taptaptaptaptaptap_

Clarke didn’t look up from sharpening her dagger. 

The person tapping got impatient and flung open the door. “Clarke, you can’t just duck out of your own engagement party.” 

“A knock on the door should be a request for entrance, not a warning you’re about to barge in, mother. And I’m not the only one who didn’t show.”

The Queen rolled her eyes to the heavens praying for strength. “You are acting like a child. You were going to have to get married sooner or later! Really, it’s all for the best it happened this way, because-”

Clarke still refused to look at her. “I would have gotten married sooner or later. It just would have been someone I loved or, maybe,” She snapped her blue eyes up to glare at her mother. “had actually met.”

Abby crossed her arms and took up a condescending tone that had grated at Clarke since she was a child. “You have always known full well an arranged marriage was a possibility, Clarke. We prepared you for this.”

At that, she tossed the blade onto her desk and stood. “Yes, but I never thought you’d actually do it! Dad _never_ would have pulled something like this-”

“Yes, well he’s not here is he? So-”

Clarke sneered “Right, he’s not here to clean up your mess, so it’s up to me to destroy my life so you can-”

“If there was another way-”

She threw up her hands “Of course! because you searched _so_ hard for a way out for me. You _really_ gave it your all. Please.” she scoffed “The first available kingdom offers you the first available heir that’s reasonably close to me in age and you jump at the chance to get rid of me.”

Abby’s eyes misted. “You know why we have to do this” she said, voice hoarse.

“You trusted Pike, and he bankrupted the kingdom?”

Her mother gave a long suffering sigh and turned to leave, muttering “Get some rest. You’ll want to look your best tomorrow.”

The glass she picked up was satisfying when it shattered against the door.

Out of sheer spite Clarke stayed up far later than her mother would have approved of and took her bath around ten. She made the water as hot as she could stand it, and she scrubbed the hell out of her skin until it glowed pink. 

She didn’t hear the intruder until she was halfway to the bedroom from her adjoining suite. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the poker in the fireplace and crept closer. From this angle, she could see into her bedroom. The window was slightly ajar, thin white curtains fluttering in the night breeze. There was a clatter and a soft curse that came from the left side of the room. 

Clarke grit her teeth and ran into the room wearing only her nightdress and robe swinging at the cloaked figure. Quicker than she anticipated, the intruder ducked, drew their sword, and what followed were the most exhilarating five minutes of Clarke’s life. Because this intruder could _fight_.

And not just fight like the soldiers she sometimes sparred with, that pulled their punches when practicing with her, but _really_ fight with parry’s and lunges and enviable footwork that Clarke was inwardly salivating over. 

They made their way around the room, knocking over chairs and knick knacks that Clarke didn’t give a damn about if she was getting this kind of exercise.

It was that damn hooded cloak that eventually tripped up her opponent, and suddenly at the end of the poker was a brunette that couldn’t be much older than she was. Under the cloak were brown leather pants, a gauzy white shirt, and a fitted embroidered vest that made for a rather dashing effect.

Her long curls were caught up in braids that held it back from her face, and bright green eyes stared up at Clarke with impressed astonishment. 

The young woman remembered herself and scrambled to her feet with her hands raised between them. A hesitant smile creeping onto her full lips.

“Well that was unexpected.” she said, beginning to creep to her left, away from the poker and closer to the still open window

Clarke stepped forward so the tip of the poker brushed the stranger’s neck and glared her down until she froze. “What are you doing in my bedroom?” she asked lowly.

The girl faltered, the appreciative look falling from her face. “Oh- ah-” She quickly snatched a necklace from Clarke’s dresser and held it up. “Stealing from you. But it uh- doesn’t seem to be going very well, so I’ll just leave now.”

She turned to go and found the poker pressed closer to her neck for her trouble. 

“The necklace.”

At this, the twinkle that had left at Clarke’s questioning returned. “And what if I want to keep it?”

“What!? Keep- Of course you can’t keep it, you _stole_ it, it’s mine.”

The girl smiled wider now and was impertinent enough to twist the chain around her slim hand. “What’s it worth to you? I’m sure you have hundreds of baubles like this one.” 

Clarke sputtered further, “Well I- Well for one thing it was a gift. And for-”

“Who from?” she asked, pressing her lips together to contain the teasing grin.

“My fiance. Now, I’ll ask you to give back the necklace and leave the palace before I have the guards make you.”

The girl quirked an eyebrow “You’re not calling the guards.”

“What?” Who in seven hells did this girl take her for? “Of course I’m-”

“You haven’t yet.” she shrugged “Why would you now? You knew there was an intruder before you even entered the room. You could have slipped away to get them then or even screamed. Instead, you came barreling in to fight me yourself.” 

To add insult to injury, the woman brushed the poker away from her neck and began to stroll casually around the room.

To maintain a little dignity, Clarke followed her movements with the poker. “Who are you?”

“I understand this little trinket was from your handsome beau,” she said in lieu of answering “but I really have taken a shine to it.” She ran her hand along Clarke’s bookshelf taking in the titles one by one. She snorted when she got to one “ _Candide_ \- how scandalous. Tell me, do you identify with Cunegonde or the bumbling idiot title character himself?” 

Huffing and lowering the poker, Clarke indulged her “Are you asking me if I identify with a character named after genitalia?” The thief looked amused by that.

“Well as the village tells it you are rather close to being married off, or do you not expect ravishment from your wedding night?”

Now it was Clarke’s turn to snort. “The village doesn’t tell as much as I’d expect. My marriage is arranged. There will be no ravishing if I have anything to say about it.”

“Well, wedding bells are sure to be a happy occasion.” The girl said wryly “These things happen for a reason, “all’s for the best in this best of all possible worlds”, and whatnot.”

“That philosophy invites a level of complacency that prevents progress and change, which was Voltaire's whole point. It also spits in the face of real world evidence and prioritizes blind trust in a god that may, or may not, exist. Pangloss is an idiot.” she couldn’t resist retorting. 

The stranger, if possible, looked even more delighted by this outburst. 

Suddenly exhausted, the blonde sighed “Look, I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow, so if I let you keep the necklace will you leave me be?”

“Won’t your fiance be upset?” The thief asked, brow furrowed.

“I doubt my fiance will give a damn since my betrothed couldn’t be bothered to show up to our engagement dinner or the party tonight. So if you’ll excuse me...” She gestured vaguely towards the open window.

The girl turned to go and then halted, turned back on her heel, and fixed Clarke with a discerning look. “Why don’t you come with me?”

The princess stared for a few moments to gauge her seriousness, then realized she was still waiting for her answer.

“Come with you?” she asked, flabbergasted at the request “You break in, steal from me and now you want me to _come with you_? I’ve known you all of five minutes!” 

“You didn’t call the guards when a stranger broke into your room and stole from you?” she shrugged. “It seems like a night for strange and wonderful things to happen. Come on, Princess, just for the night? Have some fun on your last night of freedom. I’ll get you to the church in time.” The girl winked, and Clarke didn’t think a criminal should be allowed to be so pretty.

She narrowed her eyes “It’s a bad idea.”

“Oh, definitely.”

“The _worst_ idea.”

“Undoubtedly.’”

“I’m getting _married_ tomorrow.”

The brunette crept a bit closer with a look that screamed: trouble. “All the more reason.”

“I don’t even know your name.” the princess huffed.

At this, she received a wide grin that made the breath catch in her chest. “You can call me Lexa, your highness.”

“Clarke.”

“Well, Clarke?” She asked, grin getting bigger.

A long silence.

“Let me change first.”

Ten minutes later, and she was dressed similarly to Lexa with her daggers strapped to her thighs (something that made Lexa look like Christmas had come early for some reason), and had braided her long blonde waves to prevent them from getting caught in the brambles on the trellis she was now climbing down.

“You alright?” Lexa called from below her.

Clarke chuckled “This is not my first time sneaking out you know.”

Lexa rolled her eyes, and they reached the bottom with little difficulty.

“So what now.”

“Oh” Lexa looked a bit sheepish. “I don’t know, I’m not actually from here…”

She was bemused and a little taken aback. “You ask me to come with you to...what? Do laps around the castle? Come on, you must know someplace.”

Lexa shrugged. “I really don’t. I’m new in town, just passing through.”

“Huh, well you’re in luck because I actually know a place” she said, taking off at a brisk walk towards the village.

“You?” Lexa asked skeptically “You, know a place?”

Clarke tried not to be offended by that tone. “Why wouldn’t I know a place? I live here.”

“Well yes but you’re…”

Clarke stopped short, nearly sending Lexa crashing into her. “I’m what?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

She quickly backtracked “You just seem-”

“What?”

“Well-”

The princess smiled predatorily. “No really, what? I want to hear this.”

“A princess” Lexa muttered.

She cupped a hand mockingly around her ear. “What was that?””

“A princess! Fine! I didn’t think you would know a place to go at this hour because you’re a princess. Happy?”

“No, not particularly. You made _quite_ the judgement for someone who doesn’t know me at all.” Clarke said, though her snickering betrayed her words. “Do you think this is my first time slipping out of the palace? Just because I can’t sail away like I want to, doesn’t mean I can’t explore the places that are available to me.”

At Lexa’s considering look she continued and started walking again through the thick forest that separated the royal grounds from the rest of the kingdom. “I have friends in the village who know how to keep their mouths shut and how to convince others to do the same, so I come and go as I please with little trouble.”

Her brows furrowed. “But if someone unsavory should-”

“Certainly knocked you on your ass, didn’t I?”

Lexa looked indignant. “It was the cloak! I could’ve…”

“And I was in my nightdress armed with a poker, so, really, who was at the bigger disadvantage?” 

“Fine” Lexa conceded. Then, after a pause, “I’m sorry I passed judgement.”

Clarke shrugged. “It's fine, I would have made the same judgement in your position. So what brings you to town?”

The young woman hesitated. “I’m running away.”

Of all the things Clarke was expecting, that wasn’t it “Parents?” she guessed.

“You could say that. Obligations…”

She let out a short bark of laughter “Now _that_ I get.”

“The parents or the obligations?”

“I’m about to enter into an arranged marriage.” she snorted “What do you think?”

Lexa looked a bit stricken but didn’t reply.  
  


“Oh, don’t give me that look. I’m fine just- tell me about yourself. Where are you from? Might as well know that necklace is going to a good home.” she joked, breaking the tension.

Lexa smiled “I’m from a small island far south of here. I’m headed to Flokru to stay with a cousin. She’s-” she searched for the right word “understanding of my dilemma.” 

“So Arkadia is…?”

“A necessary stop.”

“Well welcome.” she laughed “So are you a thief by trade or…”

She shrugged 

“Well that tells me nothing” she huffed, “Does the tall, dark, and mysterious thing actually work for you? Because it’s irritating.” Lexa only laughed.

They finally made their way to the edge of the forest where they could hear music and see the warm, flickering lights of the village. 

Clarke flipped up her hood, “Come on this way.” and led her down a winding cobblestone street. There were streamers everywhere and vendors with delicious smelling meats and pastries. Clarke bypassed all of them and scowled when a woman tried to sell them commemorative royal wedding music boxes. 

She only stopped when she reached the dingiest looking tavern on the street. “Here.” she beamed.

The other girl looked a little hesitant. “ _Here?_ ”

Clarke rolled her eyes and shoved her in first.

The inside wasn’t as bad as the outside, but it wasn’t much better. The tavern was still dirty, but it was warm and lit with lanterns and fireplaces that gave the whole room a homey glow. 

“Go sit down, I’ll be right back”

“C! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be sleeping before tomorrow?” the pretty brunette barmaid called from across the room. None of the other regulars paid her much mind.

“Just enjoying my last night of freedom, Octavia. Where’s Raven?”

Octavia smiled slyly “With the latest sap that’s fallen victim to her charms. I wouldn’t count on her coming up for air anytime soon.” she winked and nodded over at a closely intertwined pair of women, one of whom, Clarke recognized as her friend.

“I’ll see her before I go,” she said before ordering food and ale for Lexa and herself.

“Who’s the dreamboat?” O asked, pouring their drinks.

Clarke glanced back at Lexa who seemed to have found some of the more unsavory characters at the tavern and was edging further away from them into a small corner booth.

“Some fun.”

O looked scandalized “ _Clarke_.”

She rolled her eyes “Relax, Octavia. No one will know” and with that scooped up her drinks and food and left too many coins on the bartop.

Clarke plopped down next to Lexa with their ale and two bowls of a stew that smelled amazing.

“So what do you think? In this “best of all possible worlds” is this the “best of all possible taverns”?” she grinned.

The thief returned the smile. “Possibly” 

“I still say it’s a highly flawed philosophy.” Clarke said tucking into her stew.

Lexa did the same and replied “I don’t know if I really agree with you or Voltaire on the subject of optimism.”

The blonde looked at her incredulously. “Did you read the book?”

“No no no, hear me out, he wasn’t wrong. But the way he portrays _optimism_ is unfair. Optimism isn’t about believing everything happens for a reason and that nothing is worthy of criticism but rather, taking circumstances that are worthy of criticism and finding good in them so you can build upon that good. And sometimes finding the beauty in things that are bad.”

Clarke considered this and said “That's one interpretation, yes, but Voltaire wasn’t arguing optimism generally, just the sugary sweet “Everything must be good because god is good” ideology of his contemporary G. W. von Leibniz. His argument was against metaphysical optimism. He wasn’t saying you should never be optimistic.

Lexa snorted “He certainly seems to lump the two together.”

“It’s satire!”

“Optimism isn’t about seeing everything as fair and right and good” Lexa said fervently “It’s about taking the good things life _does_ give you and cherishing them.”

They were so close now their noses were practically touching and they both had wide smiles on their faces.

Until a large man stood on a table drunk and yelled “Three cheers for the royal wedding!!!” effectively ruining the simmering tension between them and Clarke’s good mood simultaneously. A roar went up in the tavern, and her mood soured even further as two of the tavern workers near them fell all over themselves over the _romance of it all_ and _I wish it would happen to me_.

“Alright enough you two, I’m not paying you to twitter about. Get the table at the back their stew.” Octavia snapped from behind the counter throwing a concerned look at Clarke who only nodded to her in thanks and took a swig of her ale.

Lexa also looked like she had swallowed something sour. “What? Not excited for the romance?”

The princess was quietly chewing on her words and trying to find something to say that didn’t make her sound like a heartless bitch.

“I just wish they would stop trying to turn it into some big love story” she finally blurted out “The only people getting anything out of this marriage are the people themselves.”

At this Lexa looked perplexed. “What do you mean?”

She laughed bitterly, “My mother is the only reason I’m in this mess.”

When Lexa shook her head in confusion again, she elaborated with a sigh. “When my father died, my mother… She didn’t take it well. Not that there's a good way to take your husband dying at sea but-” She tossed her hand up in a “you know what I mean” gesture and continued. 

“She took to her bed for a while, and I tried- I _really_ tried to handle things, the finances, the kingdom. Things I’ve been raised to handle, but every time I tried her advisors would get in my way. I don’t have much power, I’m not the heir to the throne, my little brother Aden is. Without my mother’s say, I’m powerless. And she said _nothing,_ not even when I begged her. She signed what they wanted her to sign, she passed what they wanted her to pass, and the people suffered for it.”

She let out a long breath “One of her advisors, Pike, got greedy and started funneling the kingdom's wealth into his own pocket, raised taxes to unreasonable heights, along with his salary, and all I could do was watch.” 

She was angry now, tears gathering “One day my mother finally woke up and saw what was happening. She tried to put it right, but the money was gone. The people aren’t _quite_ impoverished yet, and it could have been handled had the kingdom of Mt. Weather not threatened war.” Now the tears did fall “and we can _not_ handle a war right now. The only way she could think of to fix it was to marry me off to a wealthy kingdom. She’ll use the funding from that to keep us afloat until we’re back on our feet and it will give us a guaranteed ally if war does break out.”

Clarke downed the rest of her ale, and Lexa sat open mouthed.

“So that's it.” she laughed, watery and sad “that's my grand romance.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“You asked,” She let out a wry laugh “and I don’t exactly have anyone else to tell. One of the stipulations of the wedding is that I have to leave Arkadia and be a _wife_. I’ll have no one after tonight.”

Her companion looked somber. “I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything.” She sniffed, wiping her nose on her sleeve cuff.

Lexa froze at that. “Oh- uh, it was an expression of empathy, not an admission of guilt.”

“You're fine. You’re not the one who bankrupted the kingdom or forced me to get married.” she soothed, shifting even closer to Lexa on the bench seat as they both began to feel the effects of the ale.

“Right.”

The mood lightened considerably, and Lexa cleared her throat “You mentioned sailing away while we were in the forest. Where would you go?”

Clarke lit up. “God, _everywhere._ I would see the world. I want to see the Northern lights and the deserts of the plain riders and walk among every culture I’ve read about.” she gushed.

“What would you want to see first?” Lexa asked, resting her chin on her fist and leaning in closer.

“Oh that easy, the glowing forests of Trigeda, it's supposed to be close to Polis, so maybe…” she trailed off.

“I’ve seen them.”

Blue eyes got wide, and she grabbed Lexa’s forearm. “Really!? What are they like?”

“Indescribably beautiful. I’ll miss them when I go.” She sighed, feeling a buzz in her veins from the ale. 

“But- you can always go visit right?”

Lexa looked conflicted, and that furrow appeared between her brows again. “No… no, I can’t go back once I leave.”

“Why?”

She snapped back to herself “Can we talk about something else?”

The band started playing a jaunty tune, and the princess looked mischievous all of a sudden “We don’t have to talk at all.”

She rid them both of their cloaks and Lexa of her sword and pulled her by the hand onto the makeshift dance floor. The reel that started was fast and involved a lot of twirling, but Clarke pulled her in close and led her along. By the end, they were panting and giggling. 

They were also pretty sweaty after, so they escaped from the mass of bodies in the tavern. Clarke said goodbye to a very drunk Raven and Octavia, and met Lexa on the cobblestone street outside.

“Where to now? Lexa asked, stumbling a bit and holding onto Clarke’s elbow.

She flushed “Oh um... well, there’s the market, but that's closed right now. The only place I go at night is our “best of all possible taverns”.”

“Ohhhhh” the brunette grinned, nudging at Clarke. “Miss I Know a Place is a one trick princess?”

“Hey! at least I had a place, we’re one to nil, Miss I’m Just Passing Through.”

“Well, I may know one place…”

Now it was Lexa’s turn to grab Clarke’s hand and pull her through the streets of Arkadia.

She tried to pretend she didn’t recognize how good it felt.

“Where are we going?”

She smirked “My ship”.

“Your ship...Are you-? Are you an honest-to-god _pirate_?”

“Something like that.” 

“Show me your ship then, pirate” Clarke beamed

The smell of the sea brought her out of thoughts of Lexa swashbuckling. The brunette had led them to the harbor in front of a grand gilded ship with its sails rolled up.

“Wow” she breathed. 

Lexa grinned proudly “What to come aboard?” 

Instead of answering, Clarke turned towards her “Wait, what were you doing trying to steal one measly necklace from the palace? Didn’t you have- I don’t know- other treasures to find in the castle vault or the gold mines? Why my necklace?”

“Oh uh” the pirate floundered “A bet.”

“A bet.”

“Yes, some of the crew didn’t believe I could steal something from the princess herself so-” she shrugged, motioning for Clark to walk up the gangplank.

“So how does a pirate know _Candide_?”

“I had tutors growing up.”

“Tutors to rogue? How did that happen?” she asked, stepping on to the quiet deck.

Lexa was contemplative for a moment before saying “My parents... had a lot of expectations I wasn’t able to meet. So I ran away.”, she flushed “Still running, actually.”

“What did they expect of you?”

She got a laugh out of that. “To stay still, mostly. To be dainty and pretty and quiet.”

“Well you have one of those down pat.” The blonde couldn’t help but say.

Lexa smiled shyly, slipped her fingers through Clarke’s own, and guided her across the deck to the rail. From there they could look up at the stars. She felt like she could count them if she had the time. The thought was bittersweet.

“They want me” the brunette started carefully “To pursue something that would hold me in one place. Forever. And I can’t bring myself to. So I just-”

“Hey, hey,” Clarke interrupted the spill of words with her fingers on Lexa’s lips “I understand.” she said quietly “Of all the people out there you could have robbed, I understand.”

Her hand enveloped the fingers still pressed to her mouth and brought them to her chest just over her heart. “I know”

Their noses were brushing, and Lexa’s eyes closed, her breath warm across Clarke’s lips.  
  


“Uh, I thought you were going to show me the rest of your ship” she murmured. 

Lexa brought her through the brig and the galley, letting her spend time at the wheel before stopping short in front of the only place on the ship Clarke hadn’t seen yet.

The pirate cleared her throat. “My quarters.” 

“The Captain Quarters. Huh, you don’t do the pirate thing halfway do you?”

The brunette opened a hatch to below deck and waved Clarke in after her.

Clarke followed her down a ladder that had seen better days

She stumbled on her way down and tried to turn as Lexa tried to steady her resulting in Clarke being pressed back against the wooden rungs. Lexa’s hands were burning their way through the cloth on her hips, and their lips were centimetres apart.

All the tension from before in the tavern and on deck seemed to flood the air like steam, and all Clarke could see were glowing green eyes in the dim light of the cabin.

“Tell me to stop.” the brunette breathed, lips already brushing hers. 

“ _No._ ”

Clarke’s hands wrapped around the back of the taller girl's neck kissing her fiercely and tilting her head for the best angle to lick into her mouth and steal her sudden gasp.

Lexa seemed to recover fairly quickly though, shifting her hands from Clarke's hips to her ass and lifting, pressing her further into the ladder so the blonde’s legs wrapped around her. It was a little painful, but so worth it when Lexa broke away from her mouth to suck at her neck, lapping at the sweat that was starting to bead there in the humid night air.

The princess sucked in air greedily and shook as Lexa made her way from her neck to her collarbone, lavishing it with kisses as well.

“Tell me to stop.” she rasped again as she pressed harder with her hips to support Clarke while her hands made quick work of Clarke’s vest “ _Please,_ Clarke, the wedding…”

A hand fisted in Lexa’s curls and yanked her to look into blown pupils “I. don't. care.” she snarled.

She softened her grip massaging the scalp with her fingers until the older girl’s eyes fluttered closed “If I’m going to spend the rest of my life in a loveless marriage, I want this. I want one night of something I _do_ want.”

Lexa’s brows drew together, and she looked more conflicted than she had all night. “You- you want me?”

“More than anything I’ve wanted in a long time.”

The pace slowed then, no longer was it frantic kisses and ripped bodices, but trembling fingers and soft wet mouths that danced over sensitive skin. The panting and gasping became soft sighs and moans. Clarke found herself being led to the small bed in the corner of the captains quarters. She sat down looking up at a face she could only describe as exquisite. A woman who saw her, and was looking at her as though she wanted to _keep_ her. It was soul shattering, confusing, and life giving at the same time.

Lexa undressed her with care from then on, nimble fingers on the buttons of her blouse shook when her knuckles brushed against Clarke’s sternum. She removed Clarke’s boots and pants (setting aside her daggers with a grin) and underclothes, stopping only to drop soft kisses to the flesh as it was revealed. Clarke lay back on her elbows and smiled gently at the rogue who knelt before her at the foot of the bed. All the while heat pooled between her legs.

The brunette started from her ankles and moved up to her calves, her knees, her thighs, leaving no inch of skin unkissed. Her hips, she worshiped along with the strip of skin between them, ignoring her dripping center for now. 

Lexa ducked back to remove her own sword and clothes quickly, and the blonde only got a second to lament not being able to savor it more, before she was back to the task at hand, sucking a small purple bruise just below her navel. Clarke’s breathing grew shallow and she squirmed trying to guide her lover back to where she needed her, but the pirate was persistent in her mission to completely and utterly ruin the princess before the night was through.

Her belly was next, and Lexa brushed her cheek sweetly against soft pale skin leaving butterfly kisses in her wake. Then her fingers, all ten getting the same treatment, except for Clarke’s right index finger. That one, Lexa took into her mouth and bit lightly. 

Her arms and shoulders were treated similarly. Lexa reached her breasts, and Clarke had had enough. She opened her mouth to say something when Lexa took one pert pink nipple into her mouth and _sucked._ Whatever quip Clarke was going to make was lost to the strangled sound that came from her throat. She tried again but didn’t realize Lexa’s fingers had made their way to her clit and were drawing lazy circles around it slicking her fingers in the wetness she found there and drawing a whine from the princess.

“Please Lex-”

Two fingers slipped inside her without warning, and Clarke couldn’t help how her hips jumped to take them in fully. Lexa adjusted her hand to fit the base of her palm to rub Clarke just the right way.

The rhythm Lexa started was slow, torturous really, slipping in slowly and pulling out slower, crooking her fingertips into a spot Clarke hadn’t ever reached herself, but decided she _adored_.

All the while, the brunette slid feather-light kisses onto her neck, her hairline, and the tops of her breasts. If Clarke wasn’t a puddle before….well.

It was beautiful and precious, and it should have been too much. In a way it _was_ too much. The whole thing was hopelessly bittersweet. She would only get this, and Clarke would be damned if she wasn’t going to memorize every second.

“Lexa...” she breathed, cursing the tears beginning to choke her speech “I can’t- I need-”

Luckily, Lexa seemed to read her perfectly, because she hummed against the side of her neck and her fingers sped up. Her light kisses turned to sucking and nipping. Clarke couldn’t even begin to give a damn if she left a bruise. She almost hoped she would.

A long arm reached under Clarke’s shoulders to adjust the angle of her thrusts managing to hit the perfect place inside her at the same time her palm jolted against her clit sending her release breaking over her all at once. She gave a sharp cry, and every muscle in her body tensed and relaxed all at once. A tear ran down her face as her breathing slowed. She blamed the orgasm. 

The aftermath left her feeling rather tingly and warm, although that may have had something to do with the green eyes gazing into her and the light brush of Lexa’s lips onto her forehead and the bridge of her nose.

“ _Wow_.”

The brunette hummed a little and said “I’ll take that as a compliment.” looking just a touch too smug for Clarke’s liking. Well she would have to fix that, now wouldn’t she?

In short order, she had Lexa on her back. Now, she had a chance to take in all that lovely exposed skin she had been distracted from.

Her perusal of her partner’s body was a bit rougher than Lexa’s was, and she basked in the little gasps and whines she got when she went just a little too hard. She had the opportunity to press their bare skin together, and, yep, that was just as delicious as she predicted

With a smirk, she ducked her head to the base of Lexa’s throat and bit hard, sucking and working it over with teeth and tongue until it bloomed a fantastic shade of red that would probably fade to purple in a few hours. The woman beneath her didn’t seem to mind but whined, grinding her hips up to leave a streak of wetness on Clarke’s abdomen.

She meant to get to her prize at that point, really she did, but then she got to Lexa’s chest and an idea struck her. If this was the last they were ever going to get she was going to make sure Lexa felt it for days. Not only that, she was going to make sure she would have visible, tangible proof. Short of tattooing “Clarke Was Here” on her ass, there was only one way to do that. 

Luckily, Lexa seemed amiable to the idea if her whimpers and sighs were anything to go by. She started with her collarbones, nipping her way across until little pink marks shone in the moonlight. Every mark she made she kissed, soothing them with her tongue. She moved on to her chest, stomach, thighs, and hips until her torso was covered in them. Clarke spent extra time on her ribs because of the low moans she coaxed with each one she lavished with kisses and bites.

At this point Lexa was trembling. Clarke hushed her sweetly, pressing their bodies as close as they could go and sucking one more bruise just behind her ear.

It was childish. She was a _child._

She could tell Lexa was getting desperate now. Her hips had a mind of their own jerking up trying to get friction, and it was a beautiful sight. Her hair was a wreck and she was sweaty (and now bruised) but all Clarke could think was- 

“You’re too beautiful.”

Clarke slid down between her thighs squeezing her perfect ass and smiling at the little yelp she got in return. The princess dove down between her thighs like a woman possessed, licking and sucking until Lexa was on the brink, high whines slightly muffled by the thighs around Clarke's head. 

She added a finger, then two, to feel more of her, and latched her mouth around her clit. The choked whimpers Lexa made when her walls clamped down around her fingers and she trembled would be emblazoned in Clarke’s memory. 

Lexa came down from the high eventually, and Clarke wriggled her way up her body until she lay prone on her still sweaty chest. 

She could feel their hearts beating against one another, and she wished on every star, dandelion, and eyelash in the universe that she could keep this. That she could stay here. She pressed a kiss to the tiny shell of Lexa’s ear and said four words that broke her own heart.

“I should probably go.”

Lexa’s breath was hot on her neck, and her arms came up around her “We can run away, we can leave and no one will ever find us.” she whispered “You don't have to do this.”

Clarke sighed, lifting herself off her chest and brushing her knuckles across a lovely tanned cheekbone “ Yes I do.”

“I could-”

“No.”

“But if you would just-”

  
At that, she pulled herself from the bed and began pulling on clothes haphazardly, her throat tightening “I’ll tell you what will happen tomorrow. I will walk down the aisle and say I do to a complete stranger. I will be whisked away to a kingdom I’ve never been to, where I don't know a soul or the language or the culture. I will leave everyone I’ve ever known or loved to live with said stranger, and the world will turn it into a sensational love story. I will throw any hopes and dreams of _actually_ falling in love away” she took a shuddering breath “And I will save my people from war and starvation.”

“Clarke-”

“I’ll never forget you.” she finished, pulling on her vest and bent to kiss the wide eyed girl, still clutching the sheets to her chest, deeply, nipping gently at a full lower lip. “You showed me what life could look like if things were… different.”

“Wait, Clarke I-”

The princess turned and left, knowing if she stayed any longer she would take Lexa up on her offer.

She made her way back to the palace, past the celebrations, past the still bustling tavern, and back through her window.

Numbly, Clarke cleaned up the destruction their little fight had left in her room.

She slipped on her nightdress, slid beneath the covers, and cried herself to sleep wishing slim, warm arms were pressing her close.

If she seemed despondent the next morning, her handmaidens didn’t mention as they laced up her corset, dressed her in finery, and chattered about wedding day jitters. As they pulled her blonde curls up and covered up the dark circles from staying out the night before they twittered that she was about to be a married woman. She would have to keep herself up now.

Clarke could still feel the burn of Lexa’s fingers on her hips and taste the tang of the sweat on her pulse point. It was her only clue that last night hadn’t been some beautiful dream. Maybe one day, from across a marketplace in her new country, she would catch a set of sparkling green eyes and feel the pain of an almost that was too sweet. She burned for a girl she knew for one night and would likely never see again.

The handmaidens lifted the heavy gold and powder blue dress over her head ooohing and ahhhing over the silky fabric.

Clarke was led down to the carriage out front that would take her to the church and could see the throng of people even before she got to the main road. They were packed into the streets cheering and waving banners, and she thought of the story they saw and how it was juxtaposed against the story of last night. If she turned just so, she was still a bit sore.

As she passed the harbor she looked, but she couldn't tell which sails were Lexa's among the royal ships there for the wedding, although, she wouldn’t even know what to look for really. Her pirate was probably long gone by now.

Lord Kane walked her down the aisle. Clarke preferred him to the rest of the court, but still her stomach turned when the church doors opened and the long aisle was ahead of her. 

The wedding march started, and she could only focus on not vomiting on the Lords and Ladies assembled.

She was halfway down the aisle when she was reminded that she had never seen her betrothed. She supposed it would be a little while longer until she knew what her fiance looked like, because her back was still to Clarke. All she could see was a slim figure in an emerald green dress with a sash and... glossy chestnut curls held back by a tiara.

Clarke’s blood ran cold and in her soul she knew exactly who was at the end of that aisle, and she felt like an idiot for even thinking it was a possibility, but part of her wanted to race down the aisle, Kane be damned, and turn her fiance around- or turn and run out the church doors behind her.

Her mother wept into a handkerchief and the ladies of the court looked on in envy. They passed the entirety of the Polisian and Arkadian nobility.

But the wedding march was ending now. They were at the altar. Standing there, looking pale as a ghost, was Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandria of Polis. Lexa.

And at the base of her neck was a badly covered black and purple bruise precisely the size and shape of Clarke’s mouth. 

Clarke wasn’t sure why _that_ was what made her the angriest. Maybe it was because the people in the congregation didn’t know that Clarke was the one that put it there, so their only conclusion would be that her fiance (who had been absent in all previous wedding ventures) was already unfaithful. 

But she looked into terrified green eyes, held Lex- _Princess Alexandria’s_ hands so tight she heard knuckles pop, and she said her vows. 

Clarke was numb when the priest announced them wed. The kiss they shared was dispassionate and perfunctory. 

The carriage ride to the reception was silent and awkward. Lexa stared out the window, held her back ramrod straight, and twisted her hands in her lap as Clarke stared her down.

Clarke had a good long while to take in her new wife. She looked like a completely different person. Her hair was piled on her head in ringlets, and a velvet choker the same color as her gown made an effort, along with makeup, to hide Clarke’s handiwork. She was corseted and dainty and quiet. Clarke supposed this _was_ a different person. She wondered darkly which one was real.

Princess Alexandria’s eyes darted toward her “Clarke-”

“ _Don’t_ ”

That was the only thing said the whole way there.

The reception was beautiful. Of course it was. The palace gardens were decked out in the banners of Arkadia and Polis, the island south of them. (Clarke grew even more irritated that Lexa hadn’t actually lied about where she was from but simply skirted around the question.) Beautiful flowers, native to both countries, made up the canopy above the newlyweds, and the sunset cast the whole celebration in hues of red and gold. It made Clarke ill.

They didn’t speak to each other, and with every passing second that Clarke refused to look at her Lexa grew more and more visibly distressed. 

The reception ended as storm clouds moved in, and the wedding goers dispersed. The sparkle and shine of the day was erased, and the gray thunderclouds inside Clarke’s mind were reflected onto the skies over Arkadia.

She and Lexa were bundled into another carriage, rather bedraggled and damp from the rain, for another awkward ride, this time back to the palace...for their wedding night.

Clarke threw open the door to the bridle suite and cringed at the turned down sheets and champagne on the table. She immediately stalked over to the vanity beside the window and ripped off her veil and tiara, before aggressively removing the pins from her hair. Lexa appeared behind her in the mirror, expression resigned.

“Clarke-”

“Shut up.” Clarke locked eyes with her in the mirror “Are you this dishonest with everyone, or am I just special?” She spat.

The brunette flinched, and Clarke was overcome by how truly different she looked from the rogue that had broken into her chambers the night before. This Lexa was elegant and refined with jewels, makeup, and an air of superiority. Clarke wanted to rip her emerald gown to shreds, and watch her jewels clatter to the ground. Princess Alexandria stayed silent in the face of Clarke’s wrath as she removed every trace of wedding finery with a vengeance.

Angrier still at Lexa’s refusal to engage, she finally hissed, “Was this a game to you? A joke?”

“No, Clarke-”

“Was _I_ a game to you?”

“No, listen-”

Clarke felt red hot flames invade her mind. “What was last night then?”

“Just listen to me!” Lexa finally shouted, stunning Clarke into simmering silence. “I’m sorry, alright? I’m so _sorry_ for _everything_.” Tears appeared at the corners of her eyes and Clarke’s anger dimmed. She sighed, voice shaking “I can explain.”

Slightly mollified Clarke sat on the vanity stool “Then explain. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t lie last night” At Clarke's look, she hastily clarified “I _was_ actually planning on running away. My cousin Luna knew that I wasn’t on board with the marriage and disagreed with my father forcing me, so I had arranged to stay with her for a while. My father would have never suspected Luna of hiding me, so they wouldn’t have found me there.”

“Thought you were a pirate. Couldn’t you just sail away?” she mocked nastily. It was a low blow, but Lexa’s lies still stung fresh. “Or did we have sex on a stranger’s ship?”

She blushed at Clarke’s crudeness and smiled bitterly “I’m not a pirate, I was a Privateer during our war against Azgeda. When we won the war I continued to captain my ship but as a diplomatic vessel. Without my father’s ship I would have nowhere to go. Luna's estate was a last resort. I sailed in with my parents' fleet, and Luna was supposed to smuggle me out of the country on her vessel.” 

“They let a princess captain a ship?” the blonde asked incredulously. 

“It was that or wait for me to turn to real piracy” she shrugged “They knew I wouldn’t stay still during the war, so they let me have my fun. My older sister Anya is their heir. If I died they would be fine.” her tone turned sour “When the war ended, they decided they no longer wanted me roaming about. My marriage to you was supposed to fix that and force me to stay in Polis. They were sure a Princess of Arkadia would want me to stay home and raise a family.”

“So you were going to run away and leave my people to starve.” Clarke accused, grasping at reasons to stay angry out of hurt and bruised pride.

Lexa’s green eyes widened and she hurried to say, “Clarke, I didn’t know about your country's financial difficulties or Mt. Weather. I only knew my parents had found the first available princess and had signed me over as her bride. I had no idea your kingdom was suffering.”

Clarke rose from the vanity and began pacing the room “That doesn’t change anything. You lied to me. Why not just run away? Why break into my room at all!? You’re a princess, you didn’t need to rob me. Much less steal back a necklace _you_ gave me.”

“I wasn’t trying to _rob you._ Clarke, I-” she blushed bright red “I was curious about what I was leaving behind, I wanted to know about the woman I was supposed to marry.”

Somehow that was worse. She wasn’t sure why “And how did that work out for you?”

“I- I made a mistake in seeing you.” she edged closer to Clarke “Because once I had, I had to admit you were nothing like I imagined you to be… And I couldn’t go through with just disappearing.”

Her temper flared again “Why, because I have a brain and read a book that means we’ll trot off into the sunset and live happily ever after?”

“Yes- I mean _no-_ I’m- You _care_ ! You _care_ about your people.” Lexa floundered at Clarke’s indignant scoff. “You and I, we want the same things…freedom, a chance to explore new worlds, but you were willing to give all of that up for your people and I- Clarke, I _admire_ you for that. It made me want to follow my own advice.”

At Clarke’s questioning look she continued, “To take the hand we have been dealt and make the most of it. To find the good in something less than ideal. I met you and found the good”

To her shock Lexa gathered up her skirts and knelt down before Clarke, green eyes shining. “I can offer you freedom from this life from me if you want. You can take one of our ships and go anywhere you wish. Take both our dowries and do what you will or...” her voice lowered to a timid murmur “Or we can go see the glowing forests… together. I can show you the islands that have the best sunsets. We can sail away together and go on diplomatic missions. I know it's not what you wanted, but it's as close as I can get you and still ensure the safety of your people.”

She was in shock. Of all the ways she had imagined her wedding night going, this was far from it. She sighed numbly. It was so much all at once. Last night. The wedding. And now this- offer. At this moment there was only one thing she really needed. Sleep. She ran her hand over her tired eyes. “Can we go to bed? I’m tired.”

Lexa blinked once, twice and shakily nodded.

They undressed silently in opposite corners of the room and slipped onto the bed as far away from one another as possible. Clarke pretended Lexa wasn’t shaking, and Lexa didn’t comment on Clarke sniffling.

And if they ended up clinging tightly to one another in the middle of the night and Clarke had her nose buried in Lexa’s neck? Well, that changed nothing.

Clarke woke up at dawn cold and alone. Beside her head, on her pillow, was a note.

_Clarke,_

_If you’re feeling optimistic, meet me on my ship. We set sail at noon. This isn’t what you wanted, but I would like to try to be what you need._

_If not, I have made arrangements for you to stay with my cousin Luna. My Father would never have to know, and you would be free to do as you wish there._

_-Lexa_

Underneath lay the necklace Lexa had given to/stolen from her.

There wasn’t really a choice in her mind, she knew what she wanted.

Lexa’s face when she appeared on the deck of her ship was something she would cherish forever.

The deck was bustling with sailors and she looked every bit the Captain she was with her doublet, boots, and sword. Both the princess and the pirate version of Lexa were beautiful, but Clarke would always harbor a fondness for the rogue who stole her away in the night.

Lexa clocked the necklace Clarke wore and the heavy satchel on her shoulder and looked at her as though she had lit the moon and hung the stars in the sky.

“If you lie to me again…” Clarke warned.

It did nothing to curb Lexa’s smile “I won’t.”

The blonde leaned against the ship’s rail dressed much as she had been the night before and asked “So where to, Captain?”

The Princess of Polis darted forward to whisk Clarke up into her arms giggling like a fool and spun her around “Anywhere you would like and everywhere in between.” she whispered in her ear.

Clarke smiled and kissed her hard, tasting the joy on her lips and looking forward to whatever adventure they would find together.


End file.
